Strictly 2025 : Week Five. Can anything be as Iconic as the Tess/Claude duo? NO SPOILERS. 18.25PM

[EineReiseDurchDieZeit]

Getting it ready early as I am out this afternoon.

KEEP DANCING

That's the point. Singing and acting for some of those contestants, is main part of their musical theatre experience, not the dancing.

For some, it's the dance routines.

Amber claims to have no ballroom or Latin experience despite her dance background. Ashley Roberts said the same. And Debbie McGee was a trained ballet dancer. Where do you draw the line?

Ans unless you have seen them in the role, you can't possibly say how much of a dancer they really are.
I mean, Denise Van Outen only sat in a chair. 😉

Quite.
The only one seems to be, as long as they haven't competed in ballroom and Latin.

Well I saw Amber Davis in 9 to 5 in 2019.
She seemed like an good dancer to me.

I've seen Stefan Dennis in a musical, but it wasn't a 'dance' role. The people who cast Strictly know if the celebs they are signing up are 'dancers' or not. I can't think of a context that they could have come across Layton or Ashley (are therefore wished to sign them) without knowing they can dance because that is what they are famous for.

Yes, exactly!

Fair enough, but my point still stands, you can't just ban people who from participating just because they have musical theatre experience.

It's either all or nothing. That won't happen anyway.

On the flip side I saw Janette M in Chicago over the summer - a role she presumably got primarily because of her dance skills. fortunately she is better at acting and singing than she is at presenting but on the singing/ acting front she was blown out of the water by the woman playing Velma Kelly who was outstanding.

It's not all or nothing, as pp have said, a bit of dance training as an actor or a singer in a band is very different. There is a scale.

That's such a fantastic musical. Do you know who played Velma?

Yes, and where is that line? You said anyone with musical theatre experience, but as you can see there's a flaw in that, as that would discount Les and Stefan.

We will just need to agree to disagree. You think Amber shouldn't be on the show, and I don't mind her being in the show and feel bad for her dance off experience, and that's that.

Oh dear me.
I think I've made my point! 😂

Annoyingly not. It was a last minute decision to go so I didn't know who was in it. I couldn't find a parking space so I dashed in through the door about a minute before it started so missed any cast announcement at the start. I was so impressed by Velma I bought a programme at the interval to find out who she was (that's an arm and a leg I wouldn't get back) only to discover it was a history of the show souvenir programme rather than a tour specific one I was gutted!

Ah! I've done that 😁.... how annoying.

On another note I've just read about the horrible sm messages being sent to LaVoix and Ellie. I suppose LV can deal with it, all though it's bound to be upsetting for him, but Ellie?
It's unbelievable, isn't it?

That’s shocking Ellie is getting any negativity. I’m not a fan of her on the show but can’t believe people would be targeting her on SM. Hope she has proper support around her!

Yes, I'm hoping that report is wrong, but if it's true, that her Mum or someone manages her account.
I hope it's not true!

That’s awful. It’s one thing to not like someone’s dancing. But horrible when it becomes personal.

lots of Keyboard Cowards about nowadays

Yeah, I'm hoping it's not true, but in all honesty, it wouldn't surprise me.
Didn't Amanda Abbington get this?

Jay was a Ringer?! He seemed so lacking in confidence at the start.

Djalenga Scott played Velma in Chicago alongside Janette. I assume that’s who the pp saw although it could have been the understudy.

Yes, it did sound like an understudy from the context.